Christmas pickled onion help please

Dizzy_Ditzy

I made loads last year, and have just been checking in the cupboard to see what i actually have left- i have 9 various sized jars unopened, and a couple of opened ones. I just had half of one from an open jar, and it was a wee bit on the soft side in the middle. It did have crunch, just not as much as I would have liked

So, my question is this. Will the unopened jars be ok? They've been stored in a dark place since i made them.

Thanks in advance

QoC

PS- Sorry if this is not in the right place

Rebel_Hedgehog

Ooh you tease. I was hoping this was a thread on how to make some in preparation for Xmas in 9 weeks or have I left it too late?

Dizzy_Ditzy

No, its not too late at all. Average 6 weeks is the minimum time. The prepping is the hardest part of it all. As soon as they are in the jars, your hard work is all done :-)

malebolge

It's very hard to say definitely - shades of Schrödinger's cat.... Companies use stabilisers, but obviously you don't. It really depends on how you've prepared them. The key is to make sure the onions are as dry as possible after brining, if you don't dry brine. It's the water in the onions that combines with the vinegar to make them lose their crunch. I've also been told that honey rather than sugar keeps them crunchy, but I've never tried it as I don't like sweet pickled onions.

I suppose the only real way to see is to test another jar at random

Tracey2609

To be fair my Mum used to make them in the run up to Christmas - I can't remember what pickling vinegar she used, but back in the 70s we'd eat pickled onions from Christmas in the following summer. There are quite a few american website that make references to "canning" food, and making chutney, you might find more info on one of those sites.